Need a new profile picture? Looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon? These steps can help you have a great photoshoot that will achieve professional looking photos for even beginner photographers!

Steps

1

Choose a location. Try to find someplace outside that has a background that is interesting, but won't distract too much from your model. You can go for an urban theme in a cityscape, or more of a more natural landscape in a field or a wooded area.

2

Interact with your landscape. Indoor photos can often be dull because a model stands against a flat, solid colored surface, but in nature you have the whole world around you to utilize. Pick a flower, stomp in a puddle, throw a handful of leaves or snow into the air. The world is your playground, use it!

3

Know your model. This is especially true if you are conducting the photoshoot with a friend or family member. If the person is a naturally bubbly, don't make them look too serious. Avoid forcing anything, let poses and facial expressions come naturally.

4

Go for a variety of images. Take pictures from far away, or so close you see only half of the face, from high above, or a worm's eye from the ground looking up. Mix things up so you and your model don't get stuck in a trance of repetitive, boring, unoriginal photos.

5

Do the unexpected. Break beyond the tradition of a standing straight up with a full smile and facing the photographer. Take shots in action like when your model is laughing or running. Remember that the model doesn't always need to face the camera, they can be looking at something else or nostalgically staring into the distance.

6

Quantity, go big or go home. Take multiple shots that are similar, there is nothing more frustrating than coming home and finding out your coolest potential photo didn't focus. Take more pictures than you might think you need, because maybe that one last picture of the day will turn out to be your star snapshot.

7

Don't forget that photography is an art. It doesn't have to be perfect, sometimes an odd quirk makes a picture stand out from the rest! Trial and error are the best ways to improve, remember that just like any skill practice yields progress.